Shillong: Meghalaya police has sent a proposal to the State government to put habitual offenders indulging in drug peddling under preventive detention through sections of the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.
Director General of Police, Dr. Lajja Ram Bishnoi told reporters on Friday that most of the drug peddlers arrested in the state are repeat offenders who obtain bail from the courts and then get into drug peddling again.
“We have sent a proposal to the government to put these repeat offenders under preventive detention, even if there are no seizures from them,” Bishnoi said.
Highlighting the police’s crackdown on drug peddlers in the state, the top police official said, apart from booking these peddlers under stringent law, the state police are also trying to educate the youth not to get into drug abuse.
More than 300 awareness camps have been held throughout the state to educate the youth about the repercussions of drug abuse.
Stating that Meghalaya is in the grip of drug abuse and peddlers are hell-bent to lure youth, Bishnoi said, “Drug abuse has spread from the urban to the rural areas. Now even young girls have fallen prey to drug abuse in the state.”
Bishnoi said Meghalaya has broken the past 50 year’s record in drug seizures in 2022. Bishnoi informed that 116 cases were registered in 2022 and over 7 kg of heroin was recovered and 234 peddlers were arrested.
He said 4000 kg of cannabis, 12900 Methamphetamine tablets, 29000 psychotropic tablets, 28700 bottles of cough syrup, Rs. 37 lakh cash, 60 vehicles and 187 mobile phones were also seized in 2022.
“We are trying to coordinate with other state governments as almost 25 percent of these peddlers are from other states. Drug seizures are just the tip of the iceberg, so we are seeking the assistance of everyone to assist the police to put an end to this,” Bishnoi said.
